If these Doors Could Talk...

Portal of the Last Judgment at Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris is one of the most recognizable Cathedrals in the world.  People travel from all over the world to see the architectural mastery, artistic beauty, and holy wonder of this sacred space.  Above the central doorway of the Western facade (the main entrance to the cathedral) is the Portal of the Last Judgment.  Carved into the stone is a detailed depiction of Christ seated on his throne, judging the living and the dead.  If you look closely, you'll see some persons being led to heaven and others to hell.  The doorway's message is clear: be careful how you live your life, lest you end up on the wrong end of eternity.

I've always thought that was a strange way to welcome people to a worship space.  While Jesus was certainly serious when he spoke of judgment, and our need to lead holy lives, that typically wasn't the first message out of his mouth.  Jesus spent much of his life offering up hospitality, making sure that people knew they were welcome in the Kingdom of God no matter what kind of life they had led to that point.

Stained Glass by Beth Hinkle

At Faith UMC, we've just put the finishing touches on new front doors, featuring stained glass windows made by our own Beth Hinkle.  When Beth and I discussed the design for those windows we knew that they would be the first thing people see when they enter our church.  We wanted to send the right message.

The result is stained glass windows inspired by John 15, where Jesus says "I am the vine you are the branches."  The message of the windows is two-fold.  First, they say that to be part of this church community is to be connected to Jesus Christ, the true vine and life-giver.  The windows send a message up front to all who enter here: this is a place for connecting with Jesus.  Second, the windows remind us that our doors also connect us to the world, as we branch out into the community bearing the fruit of Christ's love in the world.

No offense to the artistic designers of Notre Dame, but I think Beth Hinkle bested your effort.  I'd much rather the first message people encounter at our church express our connection to Christ and desire to share Christ in community than be a message about judgment.  I think Jesus would prefer it that way too.